Iran Preparing to Adopt Bitcoin

The government of Iran has been conducting studies into how to prepare an infrastructure to use bitcoin within the country, according to Deputy Minister of Information and Communication Technology Amir Hossein Davaee.

Currently, Iran has no specific regulation on digital currencies. However, a number of online exchange websites (licensed by the e-commerce sector’s regulatory body) buy and sell bitcoin.

In an interview with a local newspaper in Iran, Davaee stated that the ministry of communications and information technology has already conducted a number of research studies that will see the country adopting bitcoin.

“We, as the main center in Iran dealing with the country’s technology developments, have taken very seriously the issue of preparing the infrastructure for the new currency,” said Davaee.

Davaee added that they need to address both infrastructural and economic issues to successfully integrate bitcoin. He said adopting cryptocurrency in Iran will end up being in the general interest of the country.

Davaee also revealed that arrangements were being made with the relevant departments to develop the necessary framework as soon as possible.

Back in January, Mohammad Ibrahim Moqaddam, the chief executive of Tejrat Bank, has called for Iranian banks and payment service providers to prepare the grounds for using bitcoin in the country. The executive has also called for laying the groundwork to embrace and welcome bitcoin and FinTech innovations.

Moqaddam noted that embracing new technologies would help promote the financial sector, as “hesitation is not the proper response.”

The banking executive opined that the ‘phenomena’ of bitcoin or other digital currencies and virtual transactions over a blockchain with virtual transfer of value between individuals and currency exchanges will have a considerable effect on the operating nature” of Iran’s banks.

The Iranian government began working on the regulatory framework for digital currencies in 2013 when the National Center of Cyberspace (NCC) issued a report proposing that bitcoin should be regulated soon.

In June of this year, The NCC drafted a proposal for regulating digital currencies in the country. NCC said that they had come up with five scenarios for regulating digital currencies. NCC’s Commission for Regulations favored a scenario that focuses on taking a lawful approach to make the best use of digital currencies.